Mean Girls

I've developed one tradition since I moved away from Ohio. Each year during
my summer trip back, I take my three oldest nieces out for lunch and a
movie. It's a chance for them to hang out with their uncle and a chance for
me to get reacquainted with them a little bit.

These visits get more and more interesting each year. They're all entering
their teen years now, and it's a genuinely intriguing experience to watch
them interact with each other, with me and with the world.

As I watched today, I recalled recently watching the movie "Mean Girls,"
based on a fairly important sociological study of teen interaction and
written by one of my favorite comedic writers, Saturday Night Live's Tina
Fey. Ahh... Tina Fey. But that's a rant for another day.

When I watched that movie in a crowd heavily populated by high school and
junior high girls, I thought about how overblown these criticisms must
really be. After all, why would girls be so judgmental of each other and so
harsh on themselves? What would be the benefit?

After spending a day with three young ladies stepping into this, though, I
have no doubts. I listened to one niece talk about how two girls in her
class had the same swimsuit on at some type of swimming mixer and how much
better the one looked than the other. I heard another talk about the
importance of being liked by people older than she was. In another case,
there was discussion about how helpful it is to know all the latest music
trends, lest you be left out.

It was really an eye-opener for me, seeing these generally level-headed
girls devolve into what's probably common practice in a young girl's life.
I just hope they can make it through junior high and high school without
ever losing their individuality.

And, for that matter, I hope they never outgrow letting their uncle take
them out on the town.